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After the mobilization order signed by Emperor Long Yufei was issued, retired soldiers like Liu Yuandong began to bid farewell to their hometown and embark on a new journey. Some of them were workers, others were merchants and farmers. However, after receiving the call-up order, all of them immediately put down their work and began to go to the nearest recruitment point to sign up, and then prepare to join the army. Except for a very few people who were unable to join the army for some special reasons, the rest of the people chose to follow the order. The more than 200,000 men needed by the six corps were all put into the barracks in less than a month and began their training for recovery. After all, it has been a year since they put down their guns, and some of their combat skills have become rusty, and they have to re-familiarize themselves with them before they can go to the battlefield.

The six newly formed armies were numbered the 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 24th and 24th armies. These six corps will be used as reserves. In order to ensure that the empire had sufficient troops when fighting against the Manchus and Russia. Of course, this is nothing more than the first mobilized army. If the situation on the battlefield changes and more troops are needed, more troops can be mobilized or recruited. The Chinese Empire has a population of more than 200 million, and the huge population base makes this empire not short of soldiers.

The Chinese Empire began to mobilize more troops, and although the operations were very secretive, they were still known to the intelligence agents of various countries who were lurking in the empire. As the Chinese Empire grew stronger, countries paid more and more attention to the Chinese Empire. In this case. It was only natural that they would send more intelligence officers to the Chinese Empire.

The Western powers wished that the Chinese Empire would fight as much as possible with the Manchus and Russia. In this case, they may be able to pick up the opportunity to bargain. Whether the Chinese Empire wins, or the Manchus and Russia win, they will be able to take advantage of the opportunity. Of course, from the point of view of the Western powers, they preferred the defeat of the Chinese Empire, a powerful Eastern Empire. It is what the Western powers do not want to see, and they would prefer to see a decadent and backward country, like this. They can bully the country as they want.

As the opponent of the Chinese Empire, the Manchus were undoubtedly the most nervous. The Chinese Empire began to mobilize more troops, which was not a good thing for them. With the Chinese Empire growing more and more troops. The Manchus would have fewer and fewer advantages. If this continues, it will be even more difficult for them to defeat the Chinese Empire. The Manchus were interested in expanding the size of their army, but their finances were not enough to make ends meet, and they did not even have enough money to prepare war materials, let alone recruit more troops. Maintaining a new army of millions is already their limit. Of course, the high-ranking officials and nobles of the Manchu government. There is no shortage of money, even though the people are already struggling to make a living. But they still have fine clothes and food every day. War seems far away for them. Many Manchu nobles had the idea of having fun in time, enjoying themselves first, lest they not enjoy themselves after the defeat in the future.

The Manchu rulers, of course, were worried. The regent Aisin Jueluo. Mianyu summoned a cadre of military aircraft ministers and the chief of staff of the Qing army, retired British Army Lieutenant General Albert, to discuss countermeasures.

"General Albert, what should we do now? The rebels have already begun to expand their armies. If they continue to expand, we won't have any advantage! "Aixin Jueluo. Mianyu said worriedly.

"Your Royal Highness the Regent, there is no way around it! With the population and industrial strength of the Chinese Empire, they could easily expand the size of their army to two million men if they wanted to. Russia has a population of just over 60 million, but they have an army of 1.4 million. According to this ratio, the Chinese Empire could have at least four million troops. Lieutenant General Albert said. He was very dissatisfied with the fact that the Manchus had privately signed a secret agreement with Russia to cede Xinjiang, Mongolia, and Northeast China in exchange for Russian troops. Britain and Russia are old rivals, and the British Empire has been blocking the path of Russian expansion, and if Russia is allowed to achieve large-scale expansion in the East, it will not be a good thing for Britain. However, Lieutenant General Albert has a good work ethic. Even if he was dissatisfied, he still did his job well.

"Oh my God! So what to do? "The ministers of military aircraft looked at each other with a smile. The Chinese Empire could lightly arm two million men, and at most four million troops, which caused them too much shock. The Manchu government sold iron and even borrowed a lot of money from the British, so that a new army of one million was formed. But the Chinese Empire was able to surpass them lightly, which made them how acceptable.

"Gentlemen, there is no way around it. The difference in strength between the Qing and the Chinese Empire is too great, and now we can only pray that the emperor of the Chinese Empire will not be reckless. Lieutenant General Albert said.

"General Albert, may we strike first? When those rebels are done, we won't have a chance! Chief Minister of Military Aircraft Wen Qing said. In this case, do they still have an advantage?

"My lord, this is impossible. Now the Yangtze River is in the flood season, and the Qing Kingdom cannot cross the Yangtze River without a navy. If we insist on launching an attack at this time, maybe before we cross the river, our army will all be drowned in the Yangtze River! Lieutenant General Albert said.

"Perhaps, you can ask the Russians for help, if the Russians are willing to send more troops to fight in China, maybe you still have a chance!" Lieutenant General Albert said. As an Englishman, he also wished that Russia was deeply involved in the war in the East. In this case, Russia's expansion in Europe would be hampered. You know, even if the British Empire is the hegemon of the world, it is not willing to fight Russia on land. It would undoubtedly be better if the Chinese Empire could be used to deplete Russia's strength.

"Yes, yes. Master Sai, you immediately contact the Russian side, those rebels are starting to expand their army, we need more reinforcements! "The regent loves Xin Jueluo. Mianyu is like a drowning man grasping the last straw, putting all his hope on the Russians.

"Yes, Your Highness, I will do my best to contact the Russian side!" Sezanne nodded. Now it seems that the 150,000 troops promised by the Russians are simply not enough! If the Chinese Empire continues to expand its military, then Russia will have to invest more troops.

In St. Petersburg in May, the weather is getting hotter. Tsar Nicholas I left the Winter Palace and moved to Tsarskoye Village, on the outskirts of St. Petersburg. Now is the time to enjoy the scenery of nature.

The international situation was now very stable, and apart from the imminent war in the East, there was nothing to worry Tsar Nicholas I. In Europe, the revolution in France was continuing, and the Second French Republic was about to be formed. Louis. Napoleon. Bonaparte was campaigning for the presidency, trying to reconcile the contradictions between the various factions in France.

The Ottoman Turkish Empire, in the south of Russia, was undergoing reforms in order to be able to realize the dream of a great power. However, Tsar Nicholas I scoffed at this. The decaying Ottoman Turkish Empire, the reforms were not destined to succeed, they were only weakened and weakened. Russia just needs to wait quietly for the right moment to strike the final blow at the Ottoman Turkish Empire.

Tsar Nicholas I was secretive about reforms. The serfdom system in Russia has severely restricted the development of Russia. However, the reform will inevitably bring out the interests of vested interests, and when the time comes, Russia will certainly be in great turmoil, which is too risky for Nicholas I, who was bent on defeating the Ottoman Turkish Empire once and for all, and he needed a stable Russia in order to be able to achieve his goals. Therefore, all the voices of reform in Russia were suppressed by him.

Now the war that Russia is concerned about is only the war in the East. Nicholas I believed that Russia was ready. The 100,000 troops sent from Europe to the Far East, including 50,000 elite Cossack cavalry, plus 50,000 mobilized in the Far East, were enough to defeat any enemy. Nicholas I believed that the final victory would be theirs.

"Father, a telegram from China." Crown Prince Alexander hurried into the office of Nicholas I and woke him from his contemplation.

"What's wrong?" Nicholas I asked.

"Father, the Chinese Empire has begun to expand its army, and we don't know how many troops they will expand. However, given the national strength of the Chinese Empire, the appointment could easily expand the army to two million men. This will be a huge challenge for our plans in the Far East. I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to win as expected! Crown Prince Alexander said.

"Two million? Did the Chinese Empire have such a strong industrial power to support it? Nicholas I said with some disbelief. After all, with Russia's industrial strength, supporting 1.4 million people is almost the limit. If more troops were to be recruited, there would not be enough weapons to arm them.

"Father, we have to admit that the Chinese Empire has this strength. Their industry is developing very fast, and it has surpassed us. Alexander said with some frustration. Russia's industrialization development was much earlier than that of the Chinese Empire, but because of the constraints of serfdom, it not only lagged behind the Western powers, but now even the Chinese Empire has surpassed them. (To be continued......)